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DIOCESE  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


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x. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


CP283 
A87d 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00034004390 


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The  Bishop  of  North  Carolina,  having  been  requested  by  some  friends, 
with  whom  he  was  conversing  on  the  work,  needed  to  be  done  in  his  Diocese, 
to  reduce  to  writing  the  substance  of  what  he  then  said,  lest  it  might  escape 
from  their  memories,  submits  to  them,  and  to  some  others,  who,  he  hopes,  feel 
an  interest  in  the  subject,  the  following  statement  : 

The  State  of  North  Carolina,  in  extent  of  territory,  exceeds  New  York, 
which  has  five  Bishops,  and  is  about  equal  to  England,  excluding  Wales, 
which  has  twenty-eight,  including  two  Archbishops,  and  three  Suffragans.— 
The  Diocese-of  North  Carolina,  co-extensive  in  territory  with  the  State,  has 
but  one  Bishop,  and  labours  under  the  further  disadvantage  of  having  no 
large  city  within  its  borders,  in  which  the  means,  and  the  energy,  necessary 
for  vigorous  missionary  effort,  can  be  concentrated,  and  from  which  they  can 
be  diffused.  The  population  of  the  State  is  sparse,  and  as  a  consequence,  an 
unusual  number  of  the  congregations  are  not  self-supporting.  These  things 
hinder  very  much  Diocesan  Missionary  effort.  At  the  same  time  there  is 
a  part  of  the  State  which  seems  especially  to  demand,  and  to  be  likely,  richly 
to  reward  christian  labour  and  christian  liberality.  It  is  the  country  lying 
West  of  the  range  of  mountains,  which  separates  the  waters  flowing  into  the 
Atlantic,  from  those  that  empty  into  the  Grulf  of  Mexico.  In  this  District, 
with  an  area  larger  than  that  of  several  of  the  States  in  the  Union,  there  is 
a  population  of  more  than  100,000  souls.  It  is  a  land  of  surpassing  beauty, 
with  a  climate,  to  which  nothing  superior,  perhaps  nothing  equal,  can  be 
found  on  this  continent,  in  healthful ness,  in  uniformity  of  temperature,  and 
in  its  bracing  and  tonic  effects  on  the  human  system.  The  population,  as 
might  be  expected  in  such  a  country,  are  an  active,  vigorous,  bold  race  of 
men.  But  this  whole  region  lies  under  the  great  disadvantage  of  inaccessi- 
bility from  the  want  of  navigable  streams  and  railroads.  The  people  have 
thereby  been,  to  a  great  extent,  precluded  from  the  benefits  of  commerce, 
and  intercourse  with  their  fellow  men.  from  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  conse- 
quently from  the  establishment  of  schools  and  colleges-,  and  the  benefits  of 
education.  Their  religious  instruction  has  been  likewise,  much  neglected. 
Their  ministers  have  been,  with  some  striking  exceptions,  men  from  among 
themselves  and  very  little,  if  at  all,  above  themselves  in  religious  knowledge, 
and  capacity  to  teach.  Our  own  church  has  made  gratifying  progress  so  far 
as  it  has  been  known,  but  it  has  not  been  much  known.  Bishop  Ives  estab- 
lished a  mission  in  behalf  of  these  mountaineers,  at  a  place  which  he  called 
"  Yalle  Crucis,"  and  it  seems  for  a  time  to  have  accomplished  a  good  work, 
the  traces  of  which  are  not  altogether  effaced,  even  at  this  day.  But  unhap- 
pily for  him,  and  for  his  work,  Romanizing  ideas  and  usages  came  to  be 
favored  by  him,  and  to  be   introduced  into  his  mission.     He  at  length  re- 


nounced  the  church,  and  the  mission  failed  and  lias,  for  some  years,  utterly 
ceased  to  exist.  In  the  meantime  a  prosperous  congregation  lias  been  estab- 
lished at  Asheville,  the  principal  village  of  this  trans-montane  country,  by 
the  Hew  Mr.  Buxton,  and  a  very  active  missionary  is  laboring  successfully  at 
various  points  in  the  surrounding  region,  and  still  a  third  clergyman  of  the 
church,  mainly  self-supported,  is  ministering  to  another  congregation  not 
far  from  the  same  village.  "But  what  are  these  among  so  many."  The  wish 
and  the  plan  of  Bishop  Atkinson  is  to  provide  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  these 
very  interesting,  and  much  neglected  people,  in  the  simplest,  most  econom- 
ical, and  therefore  most  practicable  way  possible,  it  is  to  raise  up  young 
men  from  among  themselves,  (for  thus  only  can  a,  sufficient  supply  be  obtain- 
ed) and  to  instruct  them  that  they  may  be  able  to  teach  others  also,  not  aim- 
ing at  a  thorough  theological  education,  but  yet  at  such  a  measure  of  know- 
ledge, as  by  God's  grace  may  make  them  "able  ministers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment/1 Something  has  been  done  toward  this  object  already.  We  have  in 
x\sheville  an  excellent  building  in  a  large  lot,  with  accommodations  for  a 
teacher,  and  several  pupils.  We  need  the  means  of  supporting  two  teachers 
who,  however,  it  is  proposed,  shall  also  labour  as  missionaries,  and  if  the 
work  shall  prosper,  it  will  be  necessary  to  build  another  house  for  the  second 
teacher,  and  some  of  the  students.  It  is  now  asked  that  aid  be  given,  accord- 
ing as  Clod  has  prospered  you,  to  help  forward  a  cause,  which  it  cannot  be 
reasonably  doubted,  is  the  cause  of  God,  for  that  it  is  the  cause  of  charity, 
and  of  piety.  Our  Western  Dioceses,  notwithstanding  their  marvellous 
growth  in  wealth  and  population  have  needed  such  aid,  and  the  chui'ch  has 
bestowed  it  piously,  liberally,  and  most  wisely.  And  see  what  the  church  is 
now  reaping  from  the  seed  thus  sown  ;  missionary  stations  have  become 
strong,  self-supporting  Parishes.  Theological  Seminaries  have  been  estab- 
lished, such  as  Gambift^  Jubilee,  Nashotah  and  Faribault,  like  a  chain  of  £j 
forts  stretching  across  the  Continent,  from  which  bands  of  young  men  go 
forth  every  year  to  fight  the  battles  of  God,  Truth  and  Righteousness,  against 
Infidelity  and  Heresy,  Sin  and  Death.  What  has  been  done  for  them,  we 
ask,  may  be  done  for  us,  as  our  great  object  is  the  same,  our  wants  are  equal 
and  our  resources  less. 

THOMAS  ATKINSON, 
Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/dioceseofnorthcaOOatki 


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